[05/21/13 - 11:15 AM]NBC Delivers Its Most Competitive TV Season and May Sweep in Nine YearsNBC spins the numbers for the season to date.

[via press release from NBC]

NBC DELIVERS ITS MOST COMPETITIVE TV SEASON AND MAY SWEEP IN NINE YEARS

NBC Runs Within 0.1 of #2 Fox in 18-49 With Three Days Left to Count in the Traditional TV Season While One Year Ago NBC Trailed #2 CBS by 0.5

Excluding an Olympic Year, NBC Is the First Network in Seven Years to Follow Up a Super Bowl Season With a Drop of Just a Tenth of a Point in 18-49 the Next Season

'Sunday Night Football' is #1 for the Season in 18-49 and Total Viewers; 'The Voice' Is the Season's #1 Reality Series in 18-49, the First Time in 10 Years 'American Idol' Has Not Held That Position

NBC Delivers Its Most Competitive May Sweep Performance in Nine Years

Through 25 Nights of the May Sweep, NBC is the Only Big 4 Network to Match its Year-Ago Rating in 18-49 While the Others Are Down by Double-Digit Percentages

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - May 21, 2013 - NBC is closing out the traditional 2012-13 primetime TV season running within a tenth of a rating point of second place in adults 18-49, NBC's most competitive position at the end of a season in nine years.

With results for the primetime week of May 13-19 bringing the networks within three days of the season's conclusion, NBC is running a tenth of a point behind #2 Fox, a dramatic improvement versus one year ago, when, even with the boost of the Super Bowl, NBC trailed then-#1 Fox by 0.7 of a point and #2 CBS by 0.5 of a point.

Excluding Olympic years, this is the first time since the 2005-06 season that a network has followed up a Super Bowl season with an 18-49 decline of just 0.1 of a rating point. NBC also finished down just a tenth during the 2009-10 season, the year after carrying the Super Bowl, but had Olympic help that season. Every other network that's carried a Super Bowl over the last seven years has declined the following season by at least 0.3 of a rating point the following season. In 2005-06, Fox broke even the year after carrying the Super Bowl and is the last network to do so.

NBC is #3 for the 2012-13 season and ahead of ABC outright for the first time in the nine years since NBC won the 2003-04 season. NBC tied ABC for #3 last season with help from the Super Bowl (rounding to a tie in "live plus seven day" ratings after edging ABC in initial "most current" results) and NBC also tied ABC for #3 during 2009-10 season with Olympic help. Note that this year, NBC is cleanly rating ahead of ABC with no Super Bowl or Olympic boost.

In the nine years since NBC won the 2003-04 season, the closest NBC had come to #2 before this season was five years ago, when the network finished 0.2 of a point behind the second-place tie of ABC and CBS during the strike season of 2007-08 (with a 2.8 vs. a 3.0 for ABC and CBS). Excluding the strike season, NBC hasn't finished closer than 0.4 of a point to second place over the last nine seasons.

* "Sunday Night Football" is television's #1 series in adults 18-49 for a second straight season after breaking the eight-year streak of Fox's "American Idol" last season. "SNF" is also #1 this season in total viewers, edging CBS's "NCIS," 21.4 million vs. 21.3 million (in averages that include "SNF's" three games that occurred prior to the official start of the 2012-13 television season). In 18-49, "SNF" averaged an 8.2 rating.

* The Monday edition of "The Voice" (5.2) is the #3 primetime series on the broadcast networks this season in adults 18-49, the #2 entertainment series and the #1 reality series. It's the first time in 10 years Fox's "American Idol" has not ranked #1 among reality series in 18-49 (since the 2002-03 season, when Fox's "Joe Millionaire" rated higher).

* NBC is up this season versus last by 23 percent on Monday nights (to a 3.7 rating from last season's 3.0, boosted by "The Voice" and "Revolution"), 8 percent on Tuesday nights (2.7 vs. 2.5, led by "The Voice," "Parenthood" and "Grimm") and 18 percent on Wednesday nights (2.0 vs. 1.7, thanks to "Law & Order: SVU" and "Chicago Fire").

* "Chicago Fire" has matched or topped its premiere 1.9 rating in adults 18-49 a total of 11 times this season, while the only other new dramas on the broadcast networks to have done it even once are Fox's "The Following" and NBC's "Hannibal" (once each).

* NBC's primetime audience for the 2012-13 season was significantly younger than ABC's and CBS's and NBC's viewership aged the least this season among the Big 4 Networks.

For the April 25-May 22 Nielsen May sweep, NBC is poised to deliver its most competitive May finish in nine years. With three nights of the 25-night period left to count, NBC is running within just 0.2 of a rating point of #1. It's the first time in nine years NBC is finishing a May sweep within less than 0.8 of a rating point of first place.

This May versus last, NBC is matching its year-ago rating in adults 18-49 rating while ABC, CBS and Fox are all down by double-digit percentages.

During the May sweep, NBC's audience was significantly younger than ABC's and CBS's and just 1.4 years older than Fox's. NBC's audience also had the best year-to-year comparisons among the Big 4 networks, 0.7 years younger than last May..

Sunday's 'All-Star Celebrity Apprentice' Finale Hits a Nine-Week High in Total Viewers, Up Week to Week by More Than a Million Viewers

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - May 21, 2013 - NBC's Monday edition of "The Voice" has finished #2 among primetime programs on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in adults 18-49 for the week of May 13-19, according to "live plus same day" viewing data from Nielsen Media Research, leading NBC to an average 1.7 rating, 5 share in adults 18-49 and 5.5 million viewers overall for the week. In adults 18-34, the Monday "Voice" tied Thursday's finale of "The Office" tied for #2 on the Big 4 networks for the week.

The Monday and Tuesday editions of NBC's "The Voice" ranked #2 and tied for #5 respectively for the week in adults 18-49, with top-30 ranking also being delivered by "The Office" Finale (tied for #12), Thursday's "Office" Retrospective (tied for #22), "Chicago Fire" (tied for #26) and Tuesday's 8 p.m. ET "Voice" Recap (tied for #26).

NBC's 1.7 rating in adults 18-49 kept the network within 0.3 of a rating point of the weeklong win (2.0 for ABC). It's the fifth week in a row NBC has finished within 0.1-0.3 of a point of first place in 18-49.

Monday: NBC is #1 for the night among ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in every key demographic -- adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54 -- and "The Voice" (3.8 rating, 11 share in adults 18-49, 11.3 million viewers overall from 8-10:01 p.m. ET) is the #1 show of the night. "The Voice" won its time period among ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in every key demographic. In adults 18-49, "The Voice" won the slot by 36 percent versus CBS's comedies (2.8, including season finales for "How I Met Your Mother" and "2 Broke Girls"), by 90 percent versus ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" (2.0) and by 111 percent versus Fox's two hours of "Hell's Kitchen" (1.8).

"Revolution" (1.9/5 in adults 18-49, 5.5 million viewers overall from 10:01-11 p.m. ET) finished within a tenth of a point of the prior week's official-national 2.0 in 18-49. "Revolution" ranked #2 in the time period among ABC, CBS and NBC in adults 18-49 and is #1 among those networks in men 18-49 and tied for #1 in men 18-34.

Note that "Revolution" is a highly time-shifted show, with the prior week's telecast growing by 56 percent when going from these next-day "live plus same day" ratings (1.98) to its "live plus three day" result (3.08), while rival dramas in the slot "Hawaii Five-0" grew by 34 percent (2.55 vs. 1.91) and "Castle" grew by 35 percent (2.76 vs. 2.04).

Tuesday: NBC tied for #1 Tuesday night, with "The Voice" (3.5/10 in 18-49, 10.5 million viewers overall from 9-10:01 p.m. ET) successfully moving to a new 9-10 p.m. time slot and once again delivering the #1 rating of the night in 18-49 among ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. "The Voice" convincingly won its new time period, with margins of 40 percent over CBS's "NCIS: LA" (3.5 vs. 2.5) and 94 percent over ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" Results Show (3.5 vs. 1.8). "The Voice" was up by 84 percent versus NBC's season average in the time period in 18-49 rating (with a 3.5 vs. a 1.9, L+SD, excludes live news and sports) and up 101 percent in total viewers (10.470 million vs. 5.219 million).

At 8 p.m. ET, a recap episode of "The Voice" (2.0/6 in 18-49, 6.7 million viewers overall) ranked #2 among ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in the hour, topping reality competition from Fox's season premiere of "So You Think You Can Dance" (1.9/6) in 18-49 and total viewers.

"Grimm" (1.7/5 in 18-49, 5.4 million in total viewers from 10:01-11 p.m. ET) ranked #1 in adults 18-49, adults 18-34, adults 25-54 and other key demographics among ABC, CBS and NBC in the time period. Note that "Grimm" is one of the most time-shifted series on broadcast television, with the prior week's telecast growing by 50 percent when going from its "live plus same day" 18-49 rating (1.81) to its "live plus three day" result (2.72), which increased "Grimm's" margin of victory in the time period. ABC's "Body of Proof" grew by 29 percent (to a 1.81 from a 1.40) and CBS's "Golden Boy" increased by 19 percent (to a 1.44 from a 1.21), meaning "Grimm's" margin over #2 "Body of Proof" grew from 29 percent in L+SD (1.81 vs. 1.40) to 50 percent in L+3 (2.72 vs. 1.81).

Wednesday: The first Wednesday "Dateline NBC" in three weeks (1.3/4 in 18-49, 5.8 million viewers overall at 8 p.m. ET) matched the show's previous 18-49 result and equaled the top "Dateline" rating since April 3. It was also the top Wednesday "Dateline" in total viewers since April 3.

"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1.5/4 in adults 18-49, 6.5 million viewers overall at 9 p.m. ET) grew from its first half-hour to its second in every key ratings category.

"Chicago Fire" (2.0/6 in adults 18-49, 6.9 million viewers overall at 10 p.m. ET) tied for #1 in the time period among ABC, CBS and NBC in adults 18-49 as it climbed to its top 18-49 rating since February 27 and its biggest overall viewership since January 30. "Chicago Fire" grew versus its prior original for a third consecutive original telecast, up 11 percent versus its 1.8 on May 8, up 18 percent versus its 1.7 on May 1 and up 25 percent versus its 1.6 on April 3.

It was the 11th time this season "Chicago Fire" has matched or topped its premiere 1.9 rating in 18-49. The only other new dramas on the broadcast networks to have done it even once are Fox's "The Following" and NBC's "Hannibal" (once each). It's also the 11th time "Chicago Fire" has topped its premiere audience of 6.6 million, while the only other new drama on the broadcast networks to have done it even once this season is "Hannibal."

Thursday: A retrospective episode of "The Office" (2.1/7 in 18-49, 4.4 million viewers overall from 8-9 p.m. ET) earned NBC's top 18-49 rating in the hour, excluding sports, since a special "Voice" ran in the time period on November 8, 2012.

The series finale of "The Office" (3.0/8 in 18-49, 5.7 million viewers overall from 9-10:15 p.m. ET) filed the show's highest 18-49 rating in 16 months, since the January 19, 2012 telecast also did a 3.0, and matched the "Office" high since November 3, 2011 (3.2). In total viewers, it was also the show's biggest overall audience since January 19, 2012 (6.0 million). The 3.0 is NBC's highest rating in the slot, excluding sports, since September 22, 2011 (3.3), the night of the 2011-12 Thursday season premieres. Versus both the year-ago season finale and last week's 9-10:01 p.m. telecast, last night's series finale was up 30 percent in 18-49 rating (3.0 vs. 2.3 each). In total viewers, the increase is 27 versus the year-ago finale (5.692 million vs. 4.487 million) and 25 percent versus last week (5.692 million vs. 4.558 million)

"Hannibal" (1.1/3 in 18-49, 2.5 million viewers overall from 10:15-11 p.m. ET) matched the show's 18-49 rating of the prior two weeks and equaled its highest since April 18. "Hannibal" is a highly time-shifted series, with the prior week's telecast growing by 66 percent going from these next-day "live plus same day" ratings (1.06) to "live plus three day" results (1.76).

Friday: "Dateline NBC" (1.2/4 in 18-49, 5.3 million viewers overall from 8-10 p.m. ET) reported NBC's highest 18-49 and total viewer results in the two-hour time period in 11 weeks (since March 1).

"Rock Center with Brian Williams" (1.3/4 in 18-49, 5.0 million viewers overall from 10-11 p.m. ET) scored its second-highest adult 18-49 rating in six months (since Thursday, Nov. 1), trailing over that span only the April 19 series-record rating with coverage of the capture of the Boston bombing suspect. In total viewers, it was "Rock Center's" second-highest result in three months (since Friday, Feb. 8) and in adults 25-54 (1.8 rating), it was the #2 "Rock Center" in eight months (since Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012).

Sunday: The finale of "All-Star Celebrity Apprentice" (1.5/4 in 18-49, 5.3 million viewers overall from 9-11 p.m. ET) grew versus the show's results the prior week by 15 percent in 18-49 rating (to a 1.5 rating vs. a 1.3) and by 26 percent or more than a million viewers overall (5.3 million vs. 4.2 million), despite this week's special competition from ABC's "Billboard Music Awards," Fox's hour-long "Family Guy" season finale and CBS's Tim McGraw ACM special. "All-Star Celebrity Apprentice" matched a three-week high in 18-49 rating and hit a nine-week high in total viewers (best since March 17).